"The Decoding of Lana Morris" by Tom McNeal follows the story of a high school girl, Lana Morris, who has always been an outsider. As she navigates her challenging adolescent years, she becomes captivated by the mysterious and complex world of decoding messages. Amidst friendships and a blossoming romance, Lana embarks on a quest to understand herself and her place in the world. The novel explores themes of identity, connection, and the struggle for acceptance, all while weaving in elements of suspense as Lana uncovers secrets that challenge her perceptions of those around her. [Generated by language model - please report any problems].

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book is aimed at children at US 7th grade+.

This book has been graded for interest at 12 years.

There are 289 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2010 by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers .

Tom McNeal was born and raised in Santa Ana, California, but spent part of every summer at the Nebraska farm where his mother grew up. After earning a BA in English at UC Berkeley and an MFA in Creative Writing at UC Irvine, he became a teacher. He now lives in southern California with his wife and two sons.